we had harry reid come out and basically say he wasn't open to reforming especially social security. so there's a big question mark about how they're going to move forward. remember, these are sort of their opening bids. presumably there is room for some sort of movement on either side. in terms of getting a deal done by the first of the year, i think there's a lot of pressure on both sides to try to get something done here. you remember the debt ceiling debate. after that sort of knockdown dragout fight, congress had its lowest approval ratings in history. they know they need to get something done. remember, if they don't get something done before the first of the year, it could have serious consequences on the economy. >> i want to ask you both to weigh in on this question. kristen, you do the political angle and neil you give me the nuts and bolts. yesterday john boehner wrote an op-ed calling for the health care law to be part of the negotiations, he wrote in part the president's health care law at the massive, expensive, unworkable program when the national debt exceeds the size